Dolly Unachukwu (born 1 November 1969) is a Nigerian actress, producer, writer, and director. She came to national prominence as Fadake Akin-Thomas in the TV series ''Fortunes''.

Life and career

Born in 1969 to a family of seven, Unachukwu started her acting career at the age of 16. A native of Amichi in

Anambra state Anambra State is a Nigerian state, located in the southeastern region of the country. The state was created on August 27, 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State to the south, Enugu State to the east and Kogi State ...

, she first appeared in a junior television drama in 1985 as a secretary. Later that year she was cast in the prime time soap opera '' Mirror in the Sun'' as Prisca. Unachukwu attended the Jos Television College Jos in

Plateau State Plateau State is the twelfth-largest Nigerian state. It is in the centre of the country includes a range of hills surrounding the Jos Plateau, its capital, and the entire plateau itself. Plateau State is described as "The Home of Peace and To ...

, where she received a diploma in Television Production in 1988. She later went on to study phonetics in 1989 at the FRCN Training school Lagos and then went to the

Lagos State University Lagos State University, also known as LASU, is located in Ojo, with sub-campuses at Ikeja and Epe both towns in Lagos State, Nigeria. The university was established in 1983 by the enabling law of Lagos State, for the advancement of learning ...

in 1990 and earned a diploma in

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

. She landed her breakthrough role in ''Fortunes'' in 1993 as Fadeke, the subdued wife of a millionaire. She then made her debut in films with roles in ''Deadly Affair'' and ''Deadly Affair II'', where she starred alongside

Nollywood Nollywood is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in ''The New York Times''. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there ...

veterans such as;

Emeka Ike Emeka Ike (born 22 March 1967) is a Nigerian actor. He was a special guest in Monrovia on the occasion of the commissioning of the new pavilion of Center for Democratic Change CDC, in Liberia. Emeka Ike is known for A Million Tears 2 (2006), I ...

Sandra Achums Sandra Achums is a Nigerian television personality, philanthropist, and most imperative, a veteran actress. Early life and education Sandra Achums was born in Imo state which is located in the south-eastern part of the West African nation; Ni ...

and

Jide Kosoko Jide Kosoko (born 12 January 1954) is a Nigerian actor, director and producer. He was born into a royal family, hence his traditional title of prince or "omoba" in the Yoruba language. Early life Prince Jide Kosoko was born in Lagos on the ...

. Unachukwu played a mean pimp in the controversial film '' Glamour Girls'', which became the most popular Nigerian film in the United States in 1995. She also appeared in the 2022 remake of '' Glamour Girls'' with

Gloria Young Gloria Young (''née'' Anozie; born 4 February 1967) is a Nigerian actress and former journalist who has featured in more than 70 movies and has won the ''City People Movie Award for Movie Couple of the Year'' at the City People Entertainment A ...

. In 1997, Unachukwu produced her life story, ''Wildest Dream''. In the film, she narrated her first marriage, which ended in 1994, making her a single parent. Her estranged husband threatened to sue her over the use of his real name in the film. Unachukwu remarried in 2000 and in August of the same year moved to join her husband in England, splitting with him soon after her arrival. In

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, Unachukwu began a three-year degree course in Films and Videos at the

University of East London Docklands Campus The University of East London Docklands Campus is a campus of the University of East London (UEL) situated in the Docklands area of east London. The campus opened in 1999. It is one of two campuses in UEL, the other being the Stratford Campus ...

in 2003, taking two years off for maternity leave in 2004. She graduated in June 2008. Unachukwu produced and directed her own film, ''The Empire'', in 2005, while on break from the university.

Filmography

*''Mirror in the Sun'' (TV) 1986 *''Fortunes'' (TV) 1993 *''Deadly Affair'' 1995 1&2 1994 *''Glamour Girls 2'' 1996 *''Tears for Love'' 1996 *''Deadly Affair II'' 1997 *''Deadly Passion'' 1997 *''Wildest Dream'' 1997 *''Love without Language'' 1998 *''Brotherhood of Darkness'' 1998 *''Father Moses'' 1999 *''Full Moon'' 1 & 2 1999 *''War of Roses'' 2000 *''The Empire'' 2005 *''Sisters Love'' 2007

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Unachukwu, Dolly Actresses from Lagos 1969 births Living people 20th-century Nigerian actresses 21st-century Nigerian actresses Lagos State University alumni Igbo actresses Nigerian film actresses Nigerian film directors Nigerian film producers Actresses from Anambra State Nigerian writers Nigerian television actresses Alumni of the University of East London